Singing title role is 'big moment' for Alyson Cambridge

As the Florentine Opera opens his "Madama Butterfly" this weekend, it's more than worth pointing out that this is a chance to hear some of his most heartbreaking music, such as "Un bel di" from the opera's third act, in the context of a fully costumed and staged production of the opera.

It's also worth pointing out that you'll need a hankie.

"Butterfly" is many things.

At its center is the heartbreaking story of a Japanese woman caught up in a relationship with an American man at the beginning of the 20th century.

He leaves; she bears his child and awaits his return, only to be horribly betrayed by him.

"This is not a love story; really it's a story of betrayal," said Florentine general director William Florescu.

That story of an Asian woman abandoned and betrayed by an American man took on new meaning as the century progressed, leading to frequent re-settings of the opera to reflect the women left behind by World War II American soldiers departing Japan.

The musical "Miss Saigon" is a retelling of "Madama Butterfly" set in the wake of the Vietnam War.

The Florentine production is being done quite traditionally, on a set by John Conklin, rented from the Boston Lyric Opera.

The traditional setting raises the issue of makeup for the title role, particularly in the wake of the international conversation about portrayal of race in the Metropolitan Opera's current production of "Otello."

At the time of this interview, Florescu said the decision about Butterfly's makeup had not yet been made.

He pointed out that the discussion of using makeup to portray different races is an interesting topic right now, adding that shortly after opening "Otello," the Met opened a production of "Turandot" with the cast in full Chinese makeup and received "not a peep" of conversation.

Alyson Cambridge, who is singing the title role in the Florentine's "Butterfly" production, explained that Butterfly's makeup is not intended to portray race.

"I don't take this as blackface. I don't think there's a parallel," she said. "I think she should be done in full geisha makeup," Cambridge said, speaking of the first act. "Everything she does physically at this point is geisha."

Pointing out that she, herself, is biracial, Cambridge said, "When she doesn't have makeup on, in act two, if my natural skin tone is more present, so be it."

Cambridge said that singing the title role in "Butterfly" is "a big moment for me. This is my role debut and it's really the start of a new progression in my career."

She recalled that when she sang "La Boheme" with the Florentine in 2014, Florescu said she sounded different than the last time he had heard her and asked if she was thinking about moving into heavier Puccini and Verdi roles.

"My voice has changed over the past few years," Cambridge said.

"I've been sort of happily living in what I call 'lyric land' for the past five or so years," she said, referring to the fach, or voice category of lyric soprano. "But I'm moving into the light-to-medium end of the spinto spectrum."

A lyric soprano is a voice that is both warm and still light enough to play ingénue roles, but not as light as a bubbly soubrette. A spinto is a more powerful voice that can carry big, dramatic moments like Butterfly's heartbreaking "Un bel di" aria.

When Cambridge accepted Florescu's offer to sing the title role in "Butterfly," she began the long process of learning a new role.

"It takes months to physicalize a role, to really get it into your body," she said.

After several months of working on the music, she made Butterfly her entire focus.

"I turned down two jobs this summer so that I could focus on lessons, coaching, diction and all that for 'Butterfly.'"

"I'm still learning," she said, referring to the staging and rehearsal process.

She's not alone. This is a fresh-faced "Butterfly" cast, with all of the principals making their debuts in these roles with the exception of Mark Walters, who has sung the role of Sharpless before.

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